Green vehicles are here to stay

Published 2:20 pm, Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The all-new 2015 Golf TDI, which starts at $22,345, can comfortably cover more than 500 highway miles on a tank of diesel fuel.

The all-new 2015 Golf TDI, which starts at $22,345, can comfortably cover more than 500 highway miles on a tank of diesel fuel.

Green vehicles are here to stay

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What qualifies as a green vehicle is a personal choice. Some consumers just want to go farther on less fuel and save a bunch of dollars. Some are making a statement about greenhouse gases, Mother Earth and future generations. Others are tickled at driving the latest-and-greatest. Then there are the pure-electric vehicle (EV) owners who are "motor-vated" by never having to pull into a gas station again unless they're buying a lottery ticket.

Automakers from Acura to Volkswagen are selling (or plan to do it soon) at least 50 passenger vehicles in the U.S. that are hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles or diesel.

Being able to choose which green vehicle is best for you is critical, said Bradley Stertz, corporate communications manager at Audi of America, which offers its A3 TDI Clean Diesel to U.S. consumers. "People have markedly different needs. Some are OK with limited-range EVs that can be topped off at home or work, others live in apartments or have street parking that makes charging very difficult; others have extremely long drives where diesel excels."

Texas consumers may not have as many options in green vehicles as those on the West or East coasts.

2015 BMW i8

Power goes to all four corners of this two & two hybrid. The turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine and electric motors produce up to 357 horsepower and 420 ft-lb. of torque. That's good for 4.2-second 0-60 mph romps and a BMW-governed 155 mph top speed.2016 Chevrolet Volt

Even though they may never have to buy a drop of gasoline, EV owners still face "refill" choices.

Level 1 charging, where the EV is plugged into household outlet, is the easiest but slowest. Charging a depleted LEAF battery pack takes about 21 hours.

At 220 volts, Level 2 charging is reduced to about five hours with the 6.6 kW onboard charger that's standard on the LEAF SV and SL. It's the fastest practical option for consumers who plan to do most charging at home. Quickest of all is DC fast charging.

2015 Toyota Camry Hybrid SE

The Camry Hybrid's net 200 horsepower fills the performance sweet spot between the base four-cylinder and the V6 and Toyota claims a 0-60 time of 7.6 seconds. Of course, commuting is a lot more than straight-line sprints and the 2015 Camry Hybrid SE confronts the curvy stuff with a sport-tuned suspension and stability control system. The Camry is rated at 40/38 mpg city/highway.

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2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI Clean Diesel

There's a new turbocharged engine; the 2.0-liter four-cylinder generates 150 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. But here are the numbers that really count are the estimated fuel economy ratings in city/highway driving: 30/45 mpg for the manual transmission and 31/43 for the DSG (direct shift gearbox) automatic. Its 13.2-gallon fuel tank means the 2015 Golf TDI can go more than 500 miles between fill-ups.